On Thursday blogger Joe Jervis, over at Joe.My.God, posted that he had been contacted by a student group who plans on outing closeted Montana Rep. Kristin Hansen, who spearheaded legislation to ban all legal protection for her fellow LGBT Montanans.
In a related story, a Montana judge ruled against six couples seeking just some of the same rights as married couples. The AP reports:
In a related story, a Montana judge ruled against six couples seeking just some of the same rights as married couples. The AP reports:
District Judge Jeffrey Sherlock ruled Tuesday that an amendment to the Montana Constitution that defines marriage as being between a man and a woman, has already settled the question.
He says the question of granting gay couples the benefits, without allowing them to get married, is best left to the legislative process.
The gay couples weren't asking for the right to marry in the lawsuit against the state. Rather they wanted be able to make burial, health care and other decisions, while enjoying such benefits as jointly filing taxes.
The attorney general's office countered that Montana can't extend spousal benefits to gay couples because those benefits are limited to married couples by definition.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please keep comments relevant and civil. Comments attacking other people will be deleted.